Understanding Vacation Ownership

One way to look at vacation ownership, also called timeshare, is that it is a strategy for managing your vacation time and budget. The purpose of vacation ownership is, and always has been, to help couples and families vacation better. In fact, the name of the website provided by the American Resort Development Association (ARDA) to help consumers know and enjoy more about timeshare vacations actually is Vacation Better. (VacationBetter.org)

Better vacationing through timeshare vacation ownership doesn’t mean limiting yourself to week-long stays at the same resort, year after year. Many timeshare resorts offer owners the option to break up their time, enjoying long weekends or short-stay getaways instead of, or in addition to, the traditional one-week timeshare interval. And the options for timeshare exchange make it possible to bank your timeshare ownership for future use, exchange the date, the resort, and even the size timeshare villa or condo in which you will be vacationing.

Vacation ownership, for many busy families, makes the planning of vacations easier. Confirm your week’s usage each year and your vacation accommodations are set, bypassing the time you would have spent searching the online travel sites for a vacation deal. Because you know your resort and its many amenities, you’ll find packing and planning easy and you’ll also save on vacation wardrobes, luggage fees at the airport, or luggage space in your trunk, with a washer and dryer conveniently located in your timeshare unit.

Families who enjoy vacationing in a favorite resort may be less interested in timeshare exchange and drawn to vacation ownership because it allows them to actually own vacation property. Yet unlike the responsibilities of owning a private vacation home, with vacation ownership you never have to worry about the maintenance or security of your vacation spot. Vacation ownership provides you a resort getaway without the hassles and costs that come with sole ownership of a property.

Vacation Ownership and Your Vacation Budget

When you add up the costs of a lifetime of vacation accommodations, the number can be shocking. Now look at the cost of vacation ownership, especially if you buy your timeshare on the secondary market as a timeshare resale, where the prices and the savings are the greatest. Compare your annual maintenance fees with the escalating costs of hotel rooms and it quickly becomes clear that vacation ownership can be very budget friendly.

And don’t overlook the inherent vacation cost-cutting made possible by the convenience of a having a private kitchen and dining area in your timeshare. With vacation ownership, you can choose to eat in or dine out as it suits your schedule and your wallet, in fact, you can easily vacation in timeshare for a week and spend no more for meals than you would be spending on the cost of groceries at home.

The most important fact about timeshare ownership is simply this: do the math, get the facts, and check out the opportunities for yourself. Don’t be swayed by timeshare advertising or put off by journalists who have never owned, or even vacationed in timeshare, yet get caught up in the criticisms of it. Timeshare is not a good choice for some families, yet for many families, it’s ideal. For millions of very happy owners, vacation ownership makes it easy and affordable to plan and enjoy luxury vacations at resorts the whole family will love.